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George Conte
George "Georgie Goggles" Conte (born July 25, 1960) is a New York mobster and reputed captain in the Lucchese crime family. Born in New York, Conte joined the New York-based Lucchese crime family during the 1980s. According to US law enforcement, Conte was involved in labor racketeering, loansharking, illegal gambling, extortion and narcotics activities in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx. Conte was reportedly involved in a cocaine operation that earned the family over $100,000 a week. By the late 1980's, a heated rivalry had arisen between the long-ruling Bronx faction of the Lucchese family and the upstart Brooklyn faction. Conte originally aligned himself with the Brooklyn faction, led by reputed Boss Vittorio "Vic" Amuso, reputed consigliere Frank "Big Frank" Lastorino and underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso. During the early 1990's, Amuso and Casso became fugitives from federal prosecution and were forced to turn active control of the family to a temporary ruling panel. This panel was controlled by the Bronx faction, led by Acting boss Joseph "Little Joe" DeFede, Underboss Steven "Wonderboy" Crea and Aniello "Neil" Migliore. Despite his previous loyalties to Brooklyn, the ruling panel promoted Conte to captain after the successful prosecution of several Lucchese members. However, Conte maintained a secret loyalty to the out-of-power Brooklyn faction. Eager to regain control of the family, Casso ordered Lastorino and Conte, along with fellow Brooklyn members George Zappola and Frank Papagni, to plot the murders of the ruling panel and retake control of the family. However, the captures of Amuso and Casso in 1992 and 1993 prevented this plot from progressing beyond the planning stage. In 1991, Conte along with other capos inducted five new members into the crime family. The ceremony was held in Howard Beach, Queens. Conte filled in for capo George Zappola and sponsored Frank Gioia Jr. In January 1996, Conte and Zappola were indicted and charged with murdering James D. Bishop, the former head of the painters union. Later that year Conte was indicted along with soldier James "Froggy" Galione and other members on drug dealing charges in Brooklyn. He and George Zappola pleaded guilty to involvement in several murder plots, including the murders of James Bishop and the slaying of a mob boss in California. Conte was convicted of three additional murders and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. In 1997 Conte was incarcerated in the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Otisville, NY. He was locked up at Ottisville with other notable New York crime leaders such as James "Little Guy" Ida, Joe Joe Russo, Pavle "Punch" Stanimirović, Vyacheslav "Little Japanese" Ivankov and his Underboss/cousin Eugene Slusker, the leaders of a powerful Russian Mafia organization from Brooklyn. He was subsequently charged for a hit inside FCI Otisville and was apprehended due to the testimony of a witness to the incident. Ultimately Conte was spared but Stanimirović was picked up and placed in Solitary Confinement with James Ida. Conte was a model inmate and was placed in a half way house following his release from prison on March 10, 2014. Category:Lucchese Crime Family